July 11, 2015

Okay, okay. I know this is technically July 12th now, but I am writing this so close to midnight ET that we can let it slide.

The official start of the transformation will be July 13, 2015. The weigh-in details/pictures will go up July 12, 2015, most likely at night.

I wanted to just say a few more words about what the journey will entail. This is more about improving overall health and quality of life. You aren’t going to see me eat meals that are 20 oz of chicken and a cup of broccoli or a half dozen scrambled eggs. That may work to shed fat and preserve muscle, but I just don’t see the joy in that. I can’t imagine keeping that up for a few months, let alone a lifetime. You see, the goal here is not a diet, but a lifestyle change. I love food, I love to eat and have a very close (and sometimes bad) relationship with food. There will be days where I mess up and that is part of life. If you are one of those people who doesn’t need a guilty pleasure food to make a relaxing/off day complete, that is great, I wish I could be that person, but I am not. To me, an off day isn’t an off day unless I am spread out in a recliner with a mountain dew and some nachos. Healthy? No. Necessary? Yes. I don’t think things like this need to be eliminated, they need to be managed a bit, but I can’t imagine a life without some of my guilty pleasure foods and I don’t think I should have to live like that.

Basically, all of that was to say that I am going to approach this as a lifestyle change more than a diet or a regimen. I am going to exercise, but not to a plan, rather to what my body wants to do that day. I am also going to eat a huge variety of things. I am going to try incorporate foods that improve the overall health of the body because, to me, that is what is most important. I think by doing these two things and making this change, the weight will come off and the body I am looking for will be achieved.

Anyway, get ready! The time is almost here. Don’t worry if you mess up a day or two. Maybe you go on vacation for a week and you splurge. That is fine, that is living and we should all be doing that. It is all about doing what it takes to keep yourself interested while slowly making the shift to living a cleaner life. We are all here to motivate each other. I can’t do this without all of you. Since this is my first time doing this, I am open to any suggestions whether it be ideas to try for exercise/nutrition or even ideas about what people would like to see on the blog. Please, speak up if you would like to contribute!

I leave you with this.

“Failure will never overtake me if my desire to succeed is strong enough.” – Og Mandino